Forests in the Desert Sand
by cneko2
Summary: Prequel and Gaara sidestory to Family of Demons: Gaara leaves to look for a certain blonde ninja. Warning: GaaNaru. Lots. Completed.
1. I want to see Him again

Hello folks!! 

*ducks the flying objects* Yes, yes!! I know I should be working on Family of Demons part 7…but it just won't flow!! Ya know? I swear, have worked on it some!! I've got like 4 pages of it written already but Naruto's not cooperating, the blockhead.

So anyways, I figure I'd be nice and do something to placate all of you (and save my own skin). This has been on my hard drive for a while and I really was going to wait until I had finished with Family to work on it some more but Gaara's a demanding little bastard. So here is the Gaara prequel to Family of Demons. Just why the heck did he leave Hidden Sand anyways? ^^  And how did he find Naruto?

And this is where I need to thank two people specifically. Much thanks to silverstream who asked why Gaara wasn't with the sand any more and got me to thinking 'hmm…why is that I wonder'. And much much uber thanks to Gelfling. That's right. See this lady, folks? She's the one your really need to thank, if not for her and her uber awesome fic 'Attraction' (go read it. NOW.)  Family of Demons never would have even been thought up. Let alone the whole freakin' _universe_ that seems to be spawning around it in my head. O_o;;;

Beware the GaaNaru. Not so much in this part but it WILL be happening. Hell, maybe I'll get brave and write a lemon in or something. Gyaaahh…

Anyways, enjoy. And please don't kill me for updating.^^;;;; 

************

It had come one day out of the blue, clear sky.

"Temari…I want to see him again."

There was no confusion about who 'he' was. 'He' was the one who had shown her brother there was more to life than just killing. 'He' was the one that had defeated her brother to save his important people. 'He' was the one who had actually given her a brother, and not just some killing machine to be scared of.

'He' was none other than Konoha Village's number one most hyperactive, loudest, most thickheaded ninja, Uzumaki Naruto. 

Temari supposed she should have been shocked, but in truth, she had actually been waiting to hear those words. Ever since getting soundly thrashed by the little blonde Gaara had slowly been changing. It hadn't been blatantly obvious at first. Just little things; he wouldn't kill if he didn't need to or wasn't highly, _highly_ annoyed. He attempted to be a brother to herself and Kankuro, taking an interest in what they did and their lives outside of the shinobi world. Occasionally, she caught him smiling. Not the 'I'm a raving psychotic who's about to kill you' smile, but an actual, real smile. He was still quiet, but he seemed to be developing a sense of humor, albeit a weird one, but a sense of humor nonetheless. Something which had thrown Kankuro for a loop the first time Gaara had cracked a joke.

The biggest change had happened about a year or two after his battle with Naruto. A close friend of hers who was a few years older had been sent out on a B rank mission. She had just gotten word that the mission had been a set up and none of the team survived. He had found her hugging the crumbled scroll that the news had come on close, tears trickling silently down her cheeks. She had been shocked still when she felt the warm arms close around her from behind and a quiet voice say "I'm sorry." 

Gaara had learned to hug. 

Temari suddenly found herself with a quiet, pale, insomniatic, extremely odd little brother. But he _was_ a little brother and that's really all that mattered. 

So when the time came that he decided he wanted to see the one responsible for all this, Temari wasn't surprised in the least. "So, go ask permission to leave the village already." She had replied with a fond smile. Lime green cat eyes looked up at her with faint surprise. "Look, you want to see him right? It's been eight years, go find him. But first let someone know were you're going. The village has enough of a shinobi shortage without you killing off all the hunter nin." 

  He gave her one of those rare smiles. "Thank you, Temari."

She shrugged, secretly delighted. "Hey, what are big sisters for?"

Gaara of the Desert may have changed over the years and slowly mellowed, but Gaara of the Desert was still Gaara of the Desert and a demon vessel. If Gaara of the Desert wanted something, then he damn well got it. And quickly. 

Kazekage seemed to remember this little tidbit of survival info and Gaara left for Konoha Village the next day.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Konoha hadn't changed much. Buildings that had been destroyed during the failed attack so many years ago had been rebuilt, there was a new head carved into the Hokage monument, and the cemetery was a little larger. But Konoha was still basically Konoha, and Gaara had to remind himself _not_ to kill the birds that were twittering happily in the trees. 

He headed towards the administration offices and prepared himself for dealing with bureaucracy. Hmm…maybe he _should_ have killed those birds, if only to keep from having the urge to kill the bureaucrats.  After waiting half an hour, he was allowed to approach a harried looking scribe ninja. 

"Name?"  
"Gaara of the Desert"

"Village?"  
"Sand."

"Purpose in Konoha?"

"I'm looking for Uzumaki Naruto."

The scribe stopped, looked up at him with wide eyes, and then attempted to speak. It took a few tries. "I…I'm afraid that's impossible..." Green eyes narrowed. "Why?" Sand swirled around his feet and around the bottom of the desk the scribe sat at.

 "Well…you see…Err…that is…"

Sand rose from merely swirling around the bottom of the desk to circling tightly, and closing in with each spin, around the scribe's neck.

"Erk…Ah…if I could just get you to wait over there for a few minutes, I can let you speak to someone else about this…" The sand abruptly stopped circling and flowed back into the large gourd on the red head's back, as he walked over to the indicated spot. 

The scribe scurried off. 

Another fifteen minutes found him face to face with a rather well endowed blonde woman with red eyes and a diamond mark on her forehead. "Gaara of the Desert?" He nodded. "Follow me, please." 

He followed her to a particularly nice office which featured the Konoha symbol on much of the décor.  The woman sat behind the desk, leaned on her elbows, folded her hands, and then just _looked_ at him for a minute. "So…you're looking for Uzumaki Naruto. May I enquire why?"

He glared. "I fought him once and I want to see him again."

"To settle an old score, then." She nodded.

"No. I just want to see him…He's…He's like me."

The woman held her breath for a moment, still studying him carefully. "Kyuubi was not the only one then…" she muttered to herself. She then spoke louder, "Uzumaki Naruto does not reside in Hidden Leaf Village anymore. Nor is he a Konoha chuunin any longer." She watched with interest as the boy's face remained perfectly calm, yet sand began to swirl excitedly around his feet. "He was exiled. Four years ago now. You will no longer find him in the village." 

"I've wasted my time here then." He turned to leave; a call from behind him gave him cause to pause. 

"Gaara-san? Please remember. I've said you will no longer find him in _the village_."  

_You will no longer find him in the village, but she didn't say a word about the country_. Gaara smirked. He turned to face the woman again and gave a slight bow. "Aa. Thank You." 

She smiled in return. "Good luck on your journey." 

Good luck on your journey. Not a word said about his journey _home_. 

Gaara smirked. Maybe he didn't need to kill those birds, after all…

~~~~~~~~~~

Four. Bloody. Years. 

That's what it took. Fire Country was not a small country, and coupled with the fact that he was frequently called back to Hidden Sand Village for missions, stretched what should have been, at most, a six months search into four years. 

If this wasn't the right place then he seriously was going to kill all the occupants of the area who unfortunately happen to be in his way. There had been too many false leads and dead ends; he was tired of searching and the disappointment and pain that came with each wrong turn. Shukaku was getting more irritable than ever and he didn't know how much longer he could keep the demon at bay. Hell, after four years worth of pain he wasn't even sure if he wanted to.

Heaven help the poor souls of the surrounding area if this wasn't finally it.

He had heard of the place accidentally. Some poor country bumpkin wandering in one of Fire Country's many villages mentioned something about a young man who lived alone in the mountains and weird noises that came from the forest up there sometimes. Like a good Shinobi, Gaara had questioned the man thoroughly. He was very proud of himself that he didn't even have to use sand or red hot kunai. Apparently the 'I'm a psychopath who's about to kill you for fun and profit' grin was a torture method all unto its own. 

Blonde, they said around those parts. Comes down to the village once every few months for a few items and then heads back up the mountain, never goes beyond the village  borders. Although, the young man had been a little off as of late. But it was probably the solitude of the mountains that did it, they said. 

Gaara didn't care if the young man was frolicking through the fields naked singing 'I'm a pretty pony'. If it wasn't his blonde idiot, someone was going to die a very gruesome death. Although admittedly, if it _was_ Naruto he sincerely hoped the blonde wasn't actually frolicking and singing 'I'm a pretty pony'. It would just be too weird, even by his standards.

The redhead strode stoically onward, almost to the village. Just outside the border he paused for a moment, sensing something. A Chakra warding. Extending for a good distance too it looked like. Well, well, well. There was obviously _something_ is this backwater little section of the country that someone didn't want getting out. Maybe he wouldn't have to kill anyone after all. 

So more the pity.

He still wasn't exactly sure where this young man up in the mountains was located, but being the genius Sand nin that he was, it didn't take him too long to find out. Stealth and some well placed terrorization of the local kids could do wonders for helping one find directions to where one needed to go. 

And so he found himself walking a barely visible mountain path through a deep forest. It was a bit annoying. Every now and again he had to stop and reach out with all of his senses to make sure he hadn't some how inadvertently gotten off the trail. Eventually it brought him up to a small cabin nestled in the crook of a mountain edge with large, deep green pines surrounding on three sides. Walking up to the door, he didn't sense any chakra but then again it was possible to mask such things and one could never really be too careful. 

Sending some sand through the crack beneath the door, Gaara performed the _Daisan__ no Me_ jitsu and viewed the inside of the cabin. It seemed to be rather spartan. The main room was a combined kitchen and living area, it was neat and tidy at the moment but the walls and floor had a few spots of faded dark red-brown that the redhead knew from experience was dried blood that someone hadn't managed to completely scrub away. The other two rooms where just as empty as the main and just as mysterious. Adult clothing and ninja gear was stored in the first. But the puzzling thing was along with it were smaller piece of clothing, child sized, along with crudely made toys. 

Clearly a ninja was here, but it must be an exiled or hidden kunoichi, not a young man like everyone said. How else were the children's articles explained. Gaara felt the by now familiar disappointment and rage swelling up within him again but curiosity and caution made him thoroughly search through every room in the cabin. The second room was completely devoid of any furnishing or item. It could have been a storage room, but there was obviously nothing stored in it. Yet another mystery to chock up to the oddity that was the cabin.

Well, whatever it was it was empty at the moment and, more importantly, it _wasn't_ what he was looking for. Oh he was _definitely _going back down to that village and doing more than just _terrorizing_ those lying little punks that lived there this time…

He had turned and walked a small ways away from the cabin when he felt chakra near by. He was rather irritable and disappointed. Why not start the killing spree now? After all, an exiled ninja would give him more of a challenge than pathetic villagers.

Slipping into the shadows of the forest he made his way stealthily towards the source of the chakra. And then frowned…there were two…three…no, only two different chakra. There was a rustling in the underbrush ahead of him, he ducked behind an ancient tree and heard a male voice say "Go hide and then go home."

The voice sounded eerily familiar, but he couldn't place it. There was a soft whimper, probably an animal of some sort, and then more rustling as something moved away from them. A kunai flew towards him and he blocked it easily.

"Come out, I know you're there."

They hadn't said please, but how could he resist a challenge. Stepping from behind the trunk of the large pine, he saw his enemy clearly for the first time. And if he hadn't been Gaara of the Desert, he of the severe lack in facial expression, his jaw probably would have dropped. Good thing he was because it looked like he wasn't going to get to kill anyone after all. 

Uzumaki Naruto had grown up. He was a little taller with lean legs encased in jeans and broad shoulders stretching out a black t shirt with the uzumaki spiral printed in red on the front, bronze arms tight with tension as he held another kunai in his hand. His face had lost its chubbiness and was more angular now. The blonde spikes Gaara remembered had grown long and wild, a mass of them held back in tail that reached to his shoulders. There was no Konoha hitae tied around the forehead. The eyes though, those blue eyes had changed. Before they had shown determination and the need to protect his most important people. Now they were hard with betrayal and the harsh pain the boy had suffered and glittered as brightly as shards of ice. 

However, only one thing was running through Gaara's mind at the moment. _Yummy.___

Incomprehension flashed over the blonde's face, but he didn't drop his guard. 

"Gaara?"

The red head smirked, folding his arms.

"Good. It is you. Now I don't have to go kill that village. Do you have any idea how hard you are to find?"


	2. You're not real

Hmmm…it seems that one class worth of boredom and one class worth of being pissed off get my Gaara muse rather active.  -_-;;

However, I'm not happy with this in some parts. I can't pinpoint what it is though. Whatever.

ANNNNDDDD….Lots of GaaNaru. No lemon yet, but it's GaaNaru, na? ^_^;;

***********

Perhaps he had finally lost it.

Perhaps it was the 8 years of enforced exile and little to no human contact. 

Perhaps Kyuubi was finally getting her revenge as she always threatened she would. 

Whatever it was, Naruto was quite certain that what he saw before him was not actually what was there. "You're not real."

"What?" The redhead deadpanned, the smirk on his lips dropping.

"You're not here at all. You're just some random hallucination here to prove to me that I've gone even more insane. Huh. I'd thought I'd gotten better about that since…" His voice drifted off as did the blue eyes glazing over with a slightly drugged look. Gaara gave him an incredulous look. Before he could say a word, however, those blue eyes snapped back to him and the blonde started babbling again.

"You're a new one, though. I use to see Iruka-sensei a lot, Kakashi-sensei and Sakura-chan too. Even the Ero-senin and Thick Brows and Shikamaru and the gang every now and again when they were feeling vicious. But you're new. I guess I'm progressing to past enemies now. Maybe I'll see Haku next."

Gaara briefly wondered who the hell Haku was and if he needed to kill him. But Naruto was continuing to babble.

"Are you here to tell me how much a failure and a freak I am now? Cause, I mean, you don't really have a lot of room to talk, but that's what you do, right? You hallucinations. You tell me how pathetic I am, that I'm nothing but a demon, that I'm better off dead and I should just do the right thing for once and take myself out of the world. You've been telling me that for 4 years after all, but I beat you!! At least I thought I had…Whatever! I'm not going to let you beat me this time! I don't care if you're a hallucination, and I don't care if I _am_ worthless and…"

A pale hand clamped over his mouth cutting off whatever was next. It was warm and soft, and hallucinations weren't tangible. Naruto's blue eyes widened behind the pale flesh blocking his mouth and looked directly into the green eyes mere inches away from his face.

"Do I feel like a hallucination?"

The blonde shook his head.

"Are you going to continue babbling if I remove my hand?"

Another shake. Gaara removed his hand.

"Oh my god, you are real. What are you doing here? How did you find me? Did anyone follow you? Cause, I mean, that would be really bad and I'm surprised they haven't swooped down upon us in vengeance already just for you _being_ here. And why you? I mean, why were you of all people looking for me? You're not here to fight again are you? Because I'm kind of out of practice. 8 years exile and all that, but if you want we can kind of like spar or something and…"

Gaara placed his hand back over the blonde man's mouth. "That," he informed the other "was still babbling." Blue eyes narrowed.

"Mfff mawzz moff!"

"Yes, it was. And no, I'm not here to fight. I just wanted to see you again." Blue eyes widened again, and was that a hint of a blush crossing those tan cheeks? Gaara smirked and continued. "If I wanted to kill you, I would have done so already, so obviously I don't since you're still breathing."

Naruto blinked. "Mem my?"

"Not really sure. See, I actually feel things now every once in awhile and I blame you. But…I don't want to kill you. We're alike, you and I. And if I killed you…That would leave me really alone." Green eyes bore into blue, and Naruto saw …_something_ significant flicker through them, but then Gaara was speaking again.

"And I really don't want to be alone." He finished quietly, looking off to the side suddenly.

Naruto may have been in exile, but he was still a ninja and saw an opening when it presented itself. And being said ninja, he ruthlessly took the opportunity.

He licked Gaara's palm.

The pale hand was snatched back at an extraordinary speed, and Gaara automatically cradled it to his chest as a deep blush spread across his wraith-like features, a scandalized look coming over his face. 

"Did you just _lick_ me?!"

"Well…yah. You wouldn't move your hand!! How else was I suppose to carry on a conversation if you had your hand over my mouth the entire time?" The blonde man cocked his head to the side, looking at the other's blush. 

"I can think of other things for you to do with that damned mouth of yours…" Gaara muttered under his breath.

"Eh? What was that?"

"Nothing."

"Right."

"Right."

"So…"

"So."

Awkward silence reigned on high.

Finally, Naruto couldn't take it any more.

"So, you're not here to attack me, you're not here to kill me. What _are_ you here for?" 

He looked carefully at the other young man. Gaara really hadn't changed much. At least not physically. He had grown a little, about Naruto's own height he'd say. And the normal changes that came with growing up, but he still looked the same with pale, pale skin contrasted by that shock of blood red hair and the 'Ai' tattoo. Dark circle still lined his green eyes and Naruto couldn't tell if they were from kohl or lack of sleep. Probably the latter. Because for some reason it really disturbed the blonde to think of Gaara as pouncy enough to wear eyeliner. He was a ninja, not a pirate.

(And here the author pauses for a moment to snicker at the mental image of Gaara as Captain Jack Sparrow.)

The redhead folded his arms and gave Naruto the 'Didn't I already tell you, you idiot?' look. "Because I wanted to see you. We're the same."

"We are nothing alike!" 

Gaara raised a non existent eyebrow. "Oh? Aren't we? We've both been fucked over by the people who should have protected us the most. And those around us, except a select few, don't see us past the demons inside us. We've both been exiled. Yours was enforced by the village you wanted to protect. Mine was by the family I wanted to love. Not quite as literal as yours, but still there nonetheless."

"That still doesn't tell me why you're here." Naruto crossed his arms and met the other man's gaze dead on.

Gaara was silent for moment, just looking at him, and Naruto fought the urge to shift uncomfortably. Then he spoke. 

"You saved me once, now I want to save you."

Needless to say, Naruto was rather shocked. "Wha…?"

"You saved me from myself. You looked past Shukaku and you saw the boy who was the same as you. You saw Gaara. You beat the hell out of me to do it, but you did. I'm not here to fight or kill Kyuubi. I'm here to see Uzumaki Naruto. I'm here to see the boy who told me it was okay to love someone other than yourself. I want to save you from what Konoha did to you and from what you're doing to yourself because of it. I want to keep you from becoming what I was."

Naruto's jaw dropped and his eyes had a suspicious sheen to them. He then shook his head and grinned. "You know, I think that's the most I've ever heard you say at once." Gaara just smirked.

"How did you figure out where I was any ways?"

"Thank the Blonde woman with the diamond back in Konoha. She's the one that told me you were still in the country."

"The Old Hag?!!"

"She didn't look old to me."

"Dude, she's like 60."

"Must use one hell of a renewal cream."

"……did you….did you just crack a joke?"

"Maybe." Smirk. 

"I don't believe it."

The redhead snorted. "It's your fault. Besides, just telling you were in the country didn't help much. I've been looking for 4 years."

"4 years?" Naruto looked impressed.

Gaara nodded, feeling shy suddenly. This was nice, comfortably even. Just talking like this the two of them. He thought he heard Shukaku making gagging noises in the back of his mind, but he promptly told the demon to shut the fuck up and refocused his attention on the blonde in front of him.

Just then, the fox boy glanced at the sky. "Oh shit!!" 

Gaara gave him a puzzled look, cocking his head a little to the side. 

"Damnit, I didn't realize it had been that long." Naruto looked around as if searching for something. Gaara's puzzlement continued, after all it had only been about twenty minutes at most. And what on earth was the other man looking for anyway? 

Naruto turned and slightly narrowed blue eyes turned calculating and stared directly at him. 

"Are you alone?"

"Yes."

"You're absolutely _sure_ no on followed you?"

The Sand nin snorted. Please, as if.

"Right, right…ask a stupid question…" Naruto stared at him a bit longer, the calculating look never leaving his eyes. "Alright. Come with me."

And so he followed the blonde back through the labyrinth of pines to the trail that lead them back to the cabin to the cabin itself. Gaara was very confused, however have the world's greatest poker face came in handy in times like this. Naruto paused in front of the door, looked at Gaara and then back at the door, took a deep breath and then opened it.

 Now why was the blonde acting this strange? Like this was such a big step, inviting the Sand nin into his home and all…unless…unless…Surely not! Gaara fought and lost to the heat he could feel rising in his face. Already? Well, the other man _had_ been out here alone for quite some time…Argh!! There went that heat again. But all things considered he _really_ didn't mind that much…He was just shy about such things. Suddenly, Gaara's sandals became very very interesting. 

He heard Naruto walk through the door into the main room and followed, his sandals still being so very interesting.

"Kitling! It's okay."

What? Gaara looked up, sandals forgotten, and saw a little blonde head poke around the corner of the bedroom doorway. A…little…blonde…head…with whisker marks and big blue eyes. Naruto had a…child? But, but…the only way to have a child was if…if he had…

Something inside Gaara, around the vicinity of his chest if he had to say, cracked and then shattered as logic made clear the situation. He wasn't entirely sure what was going on because all he saw was red and then Naruto was encased in sand up to his neck in perfect position for a 'Desert Graveyard'. He was dimly aware of the little one crying in terror and Naruto cussing and yelling at him, but it didn't particularly matter by this point. Because suddenly, it all became clear to him. The _real_ reason he wanted to see the blonde again. The _real_ reason he had search for 4 years to find him. And the reason he was going to kill the bastard now. Right after he found out who the slut was so he could go kill her too.

"You bastard!! Who the hell was it? One of those whores down in the village? Or was your being all alone up here in exile just a lie too?"

"What? You psycho! What the fuck are you talking about? And don't curse in front of my daughter!"

"Your daughter's going to join you if you don't tell me who she was!" 

Somewhere in the background the little girl began crying even louder, screaming "Papa!"

Gaara ignored her and watched as Naruto began struggling in earnest at his last comment. Blue eyes bleed away to crimson red and the whisker marks on each cheek darkened to a deep purple. "You touch her and I'll rip your throat out! I kicked your ass once I can do it again!"

"Not when I've got you bound in sand. Now where the hell's the slut you knocked up to have the brat?"

"Huh?" Naruto blinked.

Gaara snarled, he wasn't feeling particularly patient at the moment. "The. Whore. You. Slept. With. To. Have. A. Kid." There. Simple words. Maybe the idiot could understand him now. 

Naruto looked at him. And then he laughed, it was harsh and bitter. "You moron. If you're looking for a female to kill over this, she's right here. Inside me."

Wait…that wasn't right. Gaara articulated this fact aloud. "Huh?"

"Kyuubi, you psycho. She's mine and Kyuubi's."

Okay, logic was dying a horrible death here. In fact, Gaara could almost hear its screams of pain. Stupefied as he was, Gaara lost control over the sand for a second. Which was enough for Naruto to break the hold and lunge at the other man. There was a loud crash, and somehow, Gaara found himself flat on his back with Naruto straddling his chest, a spinning ball of chakra in the blonde's right hand. Sand was slowly surrounding him, crawling up his legs and chest but Naruto paid it no mind, staring at the redhead with furious blue eyes.

"Alright, you panda eyed lunatic! Why the hell did you _really_ come here?"

Gaara blinked and then yanked on the blonde's shirt pulling him down until they were face to face. 

"For this."

And with a little lift of his head, they were kissing. It wasn't a perfect kiss, or really even a good one. Their noses had knocked together on the way, and they were really just sort of smushing their lips together. The blonde was in shock and wasn't really responding. But it was still a kiss. And since Gaara had never kissed before, and he was willing to bet Naruto hadn't either, it was fairly decent all things considered. Mostly, because although his technique sucked, he made up for it with emotion. Trying to convey years worth of loneliness and frustration and want into one kiss somehow worked. It must have, because slowly he felt Naruto begin to respond. He closed his eyes and…

Suddenly found two small fists beating against a barrier of sand near his head.

"No eat Papa!!"

Green eyes snapped open and a part of him growled in loss as the warm lips that had been on his were suddenly gone. Naruto had sat back up, and was holding a hand over his wildly blushing face. His daughter was beating her little fists against the sand still; tear tracks bright on her cheeks as she cried angrily. 

The blonde looked from the scowling Sand nin on his floor to his equally scowling 4 year old who was attempting to save her Papa from being 'eaten' and began to laugh. Because if he didn't laugh, he just might cry by this point.

"Kizuko, Kitling, it's alright. Papa's fine."

The little blonde stopped at looked at him. He moved off of the redhead and sat crosslegged on the floor of the cabin, sitting next to Gaara and gathering the little girl to him. Gaara pushed himself up, still scowling at Kizuko, who stuck her tongue out at him and snuggled into her Papa's shirt.

"Kitling, this is Gaara."

"Panda eye wunamic!"

Gaara twitched. Naruto snorted.

"No, Kitling. Gaara."

Kizuko eyed him suspiciously. Gaara glared right back at her. "Gaara." She said finally.

Naruto smiled and hugged her and then looked at Gaara. 

"This is Kizuko." He began very seriously. "See that spot over there that looks burnt with the blood in it? That's were she was born."

"Explain."

"You know how with enough chakra you can create clones?"

Gaara nodded.

"Well, with enough blood and chakra you can create life. Kyuubi showed me how."

"That would take a lot of both."  
Naruto smiled grimly. "It nearly killed me. But it was worth it, huh, Kitling?"

Kizuko smiled and snuggled closer to him.

"If I wasn't what I am, I probably wouldn't believe you, you know."

"I don't care if you believe me or not." His eyes turned glacial. "The point is, you touch her, you die. I don't care if I have to kill myself to achieve it." 

Gaara believed him and shrugged. 

"That said." The foxboy blushed slightly. "I still don't trust you but…Are you going to stay for awhile?"

Gaara smiled one of those rare true smiles. "Aa."

Kizuko smiled sweetly at him. "Panda eye wunamic."

Gaara twitched.


	3. Go to Sleep

Tra la la la Here tis!

Oddly enough…I've noticed something about my writing as opposed to most other GaaNaru writers…I feel like I'm the only one who makes Gaara snarky and bloodthirsty, but still a big softy….and I write happy endings. Was there a memo I missed that proclaimed that GaaNaru must angsty or be violent or be really uber sappy? shrugs Whatever. I _like_ my Snarky!Gaara. (btw, if you're a GaaNaru writer and you feel insulted by this, I apologize. I didn't mean it in a bad way, I just felt like my Gaara seems different from everyone else's and am hoping I'm not making him too OOC.)

And now…I must do the obligatory pimping of my new fanfic journal.

It's on my bio page. I'd give the address here, but ff.net is being pissy. (per usual)

All stories will now be cross posted there, and slightly naughty stories that ff.net won't like and perhaps stories that feature only the kids will be only posted there. So umm…go let me know what you think. ;;; Please?

Enjoy, folks!

Night fell and the forest grew active with the sounds of nocturnal animal movement and cries. Gaara had placed the gourd against the wall and was probably talking more than he ever had in his life as Naruto kept posing questions about 'the Outside World' as the blonde was calling it. The little one reluctantly fell asleep, her eyes had drooped heavily as she fought to stay awake and keep Papa from further being eaten by the 'Panda eye wunamic'. 

Alas, despite valiant efforts she failed and fell asleep in her father's arms, her tiny hands still clutching at his black shirt. Naruto smiled down at the little blonde, stroking some of the golden hair away from her face. 

"Let me go put her down real quick and I'll make tea or something." He said to his guest, as he stood up carrying the limp body. 

"Tell me where and I can do."

"Cabinet over there to the right, first shelf." He nodded in the direction of the kitchen area. "Hot water dispenser's next to the rice maker. Some of my few luxuries out here."

Gaara watched the blonde disappear into the first doorway to the left of the main room, and then turned in the direction of the kitchen. So…tea. Right. He could make tea. 

A brief search of the indicated cabinet produced a tin of green tea and another of cocoa. The little one had a sweet tooth he hazarded to guess. Another brief search provided a pair of thick, traditional style earthenware mugs. Taking the tea tin and the mugs he turned his attention to the hot water dispenser and stared at the contraption as if it were some grotesque alien life form that had suddenly sprouted tentacles. 

That is to say, he gave it an utterly blank look marked only by the slightly puzzled crease between his non existent eyebrows.

Right. So…how did this work again? He frowned trying to remember. He'd seen Temari do this numerous times. He could do this. Holding a mug under the opening, he carefully pressed a random button. 

The thing beeped at him.

Frowning, he pressed another.

Another beep and still no water. 

Another press.

Another beep.

Argh!!! What was this thing's problem?! Anger rushed through his veins and sand began to circle around the hapless dispenser. No…wait. Can't destroy it. One of his few luxuries, Naruto said. The blonde would probably not be happy to return and find his hot water dispenser destroyed by sand. Okay…breath. He could _do_ this. He was Gaara of the Desert, after all. Genius Sand nin. And no stupid water dispenser was going to get the better of him.

He glared at said dispenser. The dispenser sat there innocently, its plastic gleaming in the light. It mocked him.

Snarling, he slammed the mug down to the side of the accursed thing, grabbed the base and viciously jabbed one final button. 

Steaming hot water dropped down from the opening. Of course it dropped down directly over his forearm. His sand curled up around the flesh to protect him, but then again Sand isn't exactly alive and therefore isn't very intelligent. 

Scalding hot mud dropped onto his pale skin. 

He stared at it for a moment in shock. It…hurt. It…burned. Oh crap! It _burned_!!!

"Ow… _Ow_!"

"Hey, what're you…Crikes, you idiot!! Get over to the sink!"

Naruto grabbed his arm, careful not to grab where the burn was and dragged him over to the sink where he threw the knobs causing icy cold water to come rushing out of the spigot. Gaara felt sure that his face was turning as red as his hair as the other man held him close, holding his burnt skin under the cold water.

They stood like that for about five minutes, the water rushing over his pale skin contrasting with the tan hand that held his wrist, keeping it under the water. He could feel the blonde's breath against his ear, the warmth of the other's body against his back, and was acutely aware of that the other lean, tan arm was wrapped around his waist. After what seemed like both an eternity and a micro second at once, Naruto turned off the water and inspected the reddened skin. 

"It'll be okay. It wasn't that bad and we got you under the water quick enough."

Suddenly he realized the position they were in and the wide green eyes staring up at him and the adorably deep blush across pale features. Heat rose across his own whiskered cheeks as he moved away hurriedly and snagged the mugs and tea.

"So…um…what were you trying to do?"

"Your hot water dispenser is possessed." The redhead responded in an emotionless voice.

"Really?" The blonde blinked, shoved a tea bag in each mug and pushed a button. The dispenser gave off a stream of steaming water perfectly. Gaara snarled and swore internally, glaring at the mug set on the table before him.

"Never made tea before, huh?"

The redhead took a swig of the liquid, as if it were hard liquor instead of tea. "Shut up. Temari normally does it."

The fox boy took a seat across from him and leaned on one hand, giving the Sand nin a closed eyed grin. The fingers of his other hand drummed along the side of his mug. He just sat there and grinned at the other man for several minutes until Gaara, shifting uncomfortably under the grinning stare, growled at him irritably. 

"What?"

"You've changed a lot, haven't you?"

"So have you."

Blue eyes opened at this and he looked as if he wanted to say something, but instead shrugged the comment off. Placing both hands around the warmth of the mug, Naruto stared into it as if the answers to life, the universe, and how to make the best chocolate chip cookies ever were contained within the tea. Gaara cocked his head to the side, studying the man across from him and then hesitantly reached a hand out to touch the tan one wrapped around the mug. The blonde looked up, startled out of whatever thoughts he was lost in and then broke out into an easy smile. 

"Sorry, I would set up an extra futon, but I don't really get visitors, ya know."

The Sand nin shook his head. "I can't sleep or else Shukaku will take over."

"Oh…right….I thought that maybe…"

"I've gotten _better_. I've trained a little to wake myself up before he can take over and can manage about 10 minutes…but not an entire night. I don't think I'll ever be able to do that."

The fox boy looked thoughtful. "Have you ever had anyone stay with you? You know, to wake you up when the sand starts gathering?"

Gaara snorted. "Sand Demon, remember? Psycho killer? 'Panda eye wunamic' as your daughter so kindly put it. Do you _really_ think anyone's going to volunteer to stay in the room with me while I sleep?" He took a sip of tea.

"I would."

"Wha…?" It was all the redhead could do to keep from spraying the man across from him.

"I mean it! I'd stay with you. Hell, I wupped you once, I could do it again if worse came to worse. Besides, I'd have the advantage of actually knowing what the hell was going on this time around." The blue eyes were so incredibly earnest. Gaara felt something warm within his chest. Some one would…some one would _voluntarily_…

"Thank you." He replied quietly.

"No problem…Hey! Let's try it."

"What?"

"Right now! Let's try it. We can see how long it takes, and that way you'll know if you ever wanna like train for it or something in the future."

Naruto stood up from the kitchen table, placed the mug of tea in the sink and headed towards the second of the smaller rooms, snagging a pillow from the living area on his way. He turned and beckoned to the stunned redhead. "Come on!"

The only thing Gaara could do was follow, a dazed look on his face.

Naruto sat against the wall of the bare room, his legs folded and the pillow placed in his lap.

"It'll be easier this way." He explained at the Sand nin's wide eyes and blush. "I'll have better access to you, so I'll be able to see the sand and I can wake you up better from this position."

His face still flush with embarrassment, Gaara lay down with his head on the pillow and looked up into the blonde's face. 

"Need a lullaby? I've gotten pretty decent at this entire 'tucking in' thing." 

Red locks brushed back and forth across the dark material of the pillow as he shook his head. "Just stay close."

Naruto grinned and Gaara closed his eyes with a sigh.

He lasted 30 minutes. Whether it was the fact that it was normal sleep and not the forced sleep of a jutsu, or if it was because there was another person there, or if it was just because it was Naruto, he didn't know. All he knew was he woke to a slap across the face and blue eyes shining happily above him

"how…How long?"

"The sand started gathering around 25, but I gave you until 30 when it started to worry me a little."

"3…30 minutes?" Lime green eyes grew large. And Naruto smiled, nodding happily.

"For real. 30 whole minutes." 

He sat up and just _stared_ at the blonde in disbelief for a few minutes. "I've never slept that long in my entire life."

Naruto just grinned like a maniac. Gaara felt the area in his chest grow warm again. Without really knowing what he was doing, he reached out and pulled the other boy to him, burying his face in the crook of the blonde's neck. Naruto went shock still at first, but then tentatively placed his arms around the redhead's back and returned the embrace. He could feel the other's hair under his cheek, the blood colored locks much softer than he would have guess, not at all gritty from the sand. The scent of wind, and the hot sun and the desert filled his nose, all with an underlying scent that identified him as something not quite human, much like Naruto's own. The blonde lay back, never relinquishing his hold on the other, nor Gaara letting go of him, and the two lay on the floor, Gaara's warm body completely on top of the boy beneath him. Both had been so utterly alone for so much of their lives that neither seemed to want to let go now that they had someone to cling to.

"Thank you…you let me sleep…you weren't afraid…" Pale lips brushed the tan neck as the whispered the words. Gaara felt the arms around him tighten.

"Thank _you_…I can't remember the last time someone other than Kizuko hugged me…"

The Sand nin lifted his head and gave the blue eyes below him a shy smile. "It took me a long time to learn how…and Temari nearly had a heart attack when I did."

Naruto laughed and Gaara lowered his head to rest against the blonde's chest.

"You know…this is the first time I've used this room for something happy." He mused, staring up at the ceiling beams. Gaara made a vague 'hmmm?' sound.

"This is…this is where I would…after they exiled me…I spent so many nights in here crying…and…and cutting…and…yelling at the hallucinations…and I tried to kill myself a couple of times in here when the loneliness got too bad…you can still see some of the blood stains and I don't want Kizuko in here…so I don't use it much."

Whatever contentment the redhead had been feeling quickly faded as ice flooded his veins. Desert sun…he'd never thought about that…what if he had been too late? And the blonde had killed himself…Gaara had his sand to keep him from committing suicide, but Naruto…. Naruto could have taken a kunai to his own throat anytime he had wanted. Suddenly, he was immensely grateful to the Kyuubi and the little girl. Stiffing, he moved to straddle the body below him, placing a palm on either side of the fox boy's head and looking him directly in the eye. Lime green met clear blue and they stared at each other for a long moment.

"Gaara…?"

"They'll never know what fools they are." He said simply.

He then lowered his head and captured the lips below him. This time it was much better. The blonde began to respond after only a moment of hesitation. Arms wrapped around his waist and the other boy tilted his head a little. Suddenly there was a presence in the back of his mind, sending mental images, showing him how to make it better. _Here_, tracing his tongue lightly against lips that suddenly opened for him. And _there_, as he explored every inch of the fox's mouth and their tongues twisted together. 

Suddenly, Gaara realized the demon within him was not only psychotic and bloodthirsty; Shukaku was also a horny bastard. _Finally_, something useful. He pointedly ignored the quip the tanuki made about being trapped in teapots and scrawny pale kids being bad for one's sex life. Fuck the tanuki's sex life. He was trying to get his _own_ sex life off the ground. He kissed Naruto a little harder, his hands tugging at the soft blonde spikes, and felt something…_really nice_ run through him and settle in his groin as the blonde moaned against his lips.

Tanuki sex life: 0 Gaara: 1. 

Oh yes. Life was _good_. 

Reaching back, he grabbed Naruto's right hand from his waist and intertwined their fingers, scooting back a little as he did. In doing so, he accidentally brushed their groins together.

Oh.

Dear.

_Sands._

Breaking the liplock, he repeated the action. The blonde below him moaned, tossing his head back and forth, those blue eyes squeezed tightly closed and a deep blush covering his face. Gaara smirked the smirk of those about to get laid.

Naruto gasped and opened his eyes, taking deep gulping breaths. "W..We need to stop…" 

"Don't wanna." Hmm…that neck looked tempting.

"Kizu…Kizuko is right next door…"

"Yay for her." A few nibbles and licks along the tan skin.

"Co…Come on…sto…Oh Dear Hokages!!" The blonde gasped, his eyes glazing over, as he arched beneath the Sand nin.

Hmm…have to remember that spot for later.

Gaara lowered his head to the tan neck again, only to find himself shoved off. Glaring, he sat up looking at the rumpled ex-Leaf nin sitting on the floor a little away from him taking deep breaths. Naruto finally opened his eyes and looked at the redhead seriously, if a little frustrated.

"Not now. You _just_ got here and my daughter is asleep in the next room."

Gaara pouted and crossed his arms. He had a complete 'yeah right' air about him.

"I want to. Oh great Hokages, do I want to. But, it's too soon. And…truthfully, I'm a little scared."

Gaara blinked. Naruto continued on, a little nervous.

"I've been alone for so many years…and the only one I see is Kizuko, no one else knows about her, not even the village. And before, back in Konoha…I'd never even kissed a _girl_. And, well, then I was exiled and alone for all those years….And then suddenly you appear and this begins to happen and…just give me a little time, okay?"

Gaara nodded slowly. "But…kissing's okay?"

"Kissing…is a must." The blonde decided with at look of determination.

Gaara leaned over and kissed him. Softly, sweetly, and chastely. There were several different types of kisses, the Sand nin was coming to learn. And he really really wanted to find out what all of them were. Good thing kissing was a must.

Moonlight poured in through the window, coloring everything pale and silver as shadows crawled across the walls. Naruto smiled softly as the kiss ended, and then yawned.

He then blinked embarrassedly. "Sorry…"

"Get some sleep."

"But you…"

"Don't worry about me. You've already let me sleep." 

He grabbed the pillow from were it had been tossed aside and repositioned it before pulling the blonde towards him and laying them both down. His own head was on the pillow and Naruto rested his fair head on the other's shoulder. Nuzzling into the redhead's warmth he yawned again.

"Haven't been held before…just do the holding…"

Gaara pulled him closer. The blonde opened his eyes, looking up and serious for one last moment before falling into sleep.

"Thank you."

"For?"

"Coming. You're the only one who's ever looked. Who's cared."

A gentle kiss on the forehead. 

"Go to sleep."

The Japanese have these really awesome kitchen things that heat up, keep heated, and dispense hot water. I'm not sure what they're called though, so I just called it a hot water dispenser. And I understand Gaara's pain. I had to work at a con once and make tea with one of these things. I could not for the life of me figure out how to get it to give me water at first. I guess I'm just kitchen illiterate as well. ;;;

MWAHAHA! I had you all fooled didn't I? You thought they were actually going to get it on, didn't you? Don't worry. They will. They've just got to figure out how.

Good thing Gaara's got a horny bastard inside him. (and _yes_, I'm talking about the demon. XD )


	4. Just what had he gotten himself into

Hey, check it! I finally got it out! Actually, my roomie left tonight and is going to be away for 9 whole weeks and I was feeling incredibly lonely. So I decided to pick on Gaara. Although, he's not as Snarky in this chapter as he probably should be, but oh well. Lots of Kizuko in this one, so I apologize, but I felt I needed to get this particular snag out of the way. Also, no lemon yet…but there will be!! Next chapter, I swear!

Which I will try to get out sooner than this one got out, but I find that one of my biggest problems is that I don't have any friends around here that are both into Naruto and like GaaNaru. So I can't discuss plot or character ideas with anyone and get feedback from that that makes me want to write. It kind of sucks. Anyone out there into FoD enough that they'd like to kick around ideas with me?

Oh yes!! Also!! I'VE GOT FANART!!!! How freakin' awesome is that?!!! FoD has it's first official fanart!!! Go check my bio page to find the link since ff.net is pissy about links within stories. (btw, if someone knows how to do that PLEASE email me and let me in on that particular mystery of the universe)

Go look at it and see how utterly gorgeous it is and tell Aki how awesome an artist she is!! What are you waiting for? GO!! LOOK!!

* * *

Naruto awoke to the strangest sensations.

For one thing, the small body that should be curled up next to him on the futon was missing. For another, he was completely surrounded by warmth. He hadn't been held much in his twenty odd years of life, but he remembered that this is how it felt. It was nice. Yawning, he nuzzled into the blankets below him and realized the blankets were kind of bony and had a heartbeat. Oh…_Oh_!

Blinking sleepily, he looked up at the face above him. Slender hands brushed some wayward hair out of his eyes. The blonde gave a small smile.

"Hi there."

There was a soft snort. "Isn't the correct response 'good morning'?"

The blonde yawned and stretched. "Actually…I think the correct response is this."

With that, he slid an arm around Gaara's neck and pulled the Sand nin down for a kiss. And then promptly pouted when the redhead made a face.

"What? You were all Mister Physical last night."

"Last night you didn't have morning breath."

"Oh bite me."

If Naruto were a smart boy, he would have noticed the gleam of mischief that entered the green eyes above him. But then again, this was _Naruto_.

"If you insist."

Gaara seemed to have remembered that one particular spot on the blonde's neck from the previous night and gave it a light nip. Blue eyes went wide, glazing over and Naruto gasped. Morning breath or no, he pulled the other man down for another kiss. Had he not been otherwise engaged, he probably would have noticed the soft sounds in the other room.

"Mmm…"

Had he not been occupied he probably would have the small footsteps within the main room that were fast approaching the door. Gaara, on the other hand, had lived through most of his formative years on the look out for assassination attempts. It tended to make one paranoid and aware of their surroundings.

Being the nice somewhat homicidal ninja that he was, he broke the liplock just as the door creaked open and a small voice called out in horrified shock. "Papa?"

Gaara found himself practically shoved across the room, as Naruto immediately broke out of his dazed state.

"Kitling! You're awake!" The blonde began straightening his clothes in an attempt to not look thoroughly molested. Gaara smirked, even if he _had_ been shoved away.

Suddenly the little girl's lip began to stick out and she began sniffing. Gaara wasn't quite sure what was going on…surely she wasn't…Naruto, having a few more years experience at this sort of thing, knew an impending crying fit when he saw one.

"What's wrong, Kitling?" he asked his best diplomatic voice.

"Papa wasn't there when Kizuko woke up."

"I'm sorry, Kitling…Papa had to…err…make sure Gaara slept alright." The blonde sweatdropped slightly, and Gaara snickered softly across the room. The look the little one gave him then would have scared a lesser man into soiling himself. But, Gaara being Gaara simply returned it with a good glare of his own. The tension in the room became nearly palpable when Naruto gave a nervous laugh.

"Okay, so who wants breakfast?"

Slipping past the other occupant of the room and the little blonde in the doorway, Naruto walked to the kitchen and began rummaging around.

A bit later, the three sat at the table in silence. Kizuko glared at Gaara, Gaara glared back. Naruto looked back and forth between the two and sighed, looking to his rice bowl for the correct way to handle the situation.

The rice bowl was amazingly unhelpful.

Kizuko set her bowl on the table and placed her chopsticks on top of it.

"Kizuko is done."

She slipped down from the high seat and stomped to their room. Naruto sighed again and glanced a Gaara.

"Give us a minute, will you?"

The Sand nin shrugged.

Steeling himself, the blonde walked to the door of the room and then entered. For a moment he just stood there and watched the miniature version of himself sit on the unmade futon, her arms crossed and pouting for all she was worth.

"Hey there, Kitling." He said coming to sit next to her on the futon. She didn't say anything or acknowledge his presence.

"So…want to tell Papa why you're upset?"

Silence.

"Is it Gaara?"

Still silence, but one blue eye stared balefully at him from beneath blonde fringe.

"Ah. Look, yesterday Papa and Gaara had a little…misunderstanding about you, but it's okay now. But Gaara's not a bad guy, really. And since he's going to be staying awhile, it would really mean…"

"No."

The word was so quick and so forceful it cut him short and made him blink.

"What?"

"Not stay."

"Now, Kitling…"

"_Not Stay_."

Naruto frowned, his voice taking on a serious tone. "Now, Look, young lady. If Papa say's he's staying, then he's staying. Got it?"

"_NO STAY!!!_"

She was standing up, looking him the eye, her own eyes burning bright with stubbornness. Yet another of the many many things he had in common with her. Naruto may have been a father, but he was also still fairly young and had been alone most of his life. Therefore he was still immature and unaware of how to handle the sitituation at times.

"_Yes, he is_!!! If I say he's staying than he is damn well staying, so _GET USE TO IT_!!!!!" he roared back.

"_Kizuko hates him!! NO STAY!!"_

"_WELL TOO BAD!!"_

_"KIZUKO HATES PAPA!!!!!_"

Naruto felt a sharp, sudden pain to his heart. It filled him and he couldn't move, could think, all of his senses shut down and there was just this overwhelming sense of pain that flooded through him. Duller than a rusty kunai, slower than poison, more painful than being exiled. Tears flooded his eyes as he watched his daughter run out of the room and then out of the cabin, the doors slamming in her wake.

Gaara had sat calmly through the screaming match he heard occurring between father and daughter. He had stood, straight as a board, when the little one screamed her last words, anger and shock washing over him. She had run past him without a glance and he had let her, the redhead was more concerned with the other blonde at the moment. He entered the room and found Naruto on the futon, pale with slight tremors wracking his frame. Blue eyes were wide and blank, with tears pouring from them.

"She hates me…she hates me…she hates me…"

He knelt next to the blonde, placing a hand on his shoulder. "No, she's just upset."

"No! She hates me, she said it!! She's my reason…the only reason I…And she hates me! I can't…I can't …" He moved from the futon and began frantically searching the room.

Gaara frowned. "What are you looking for?"

"Kunai. I can't…she hates me, so there's no reason…"

He was really too out of it to notice the sand until it had him fully trapped. He couldn't move, he realized and began struggling in earnest.

"Let me go!! I have to…"

"You," The Sand nin snarled, pointing finger at him. "will not move. You will not find that kunai. You will stay there until I go haul your brat of a daughter back and then you will sit down and discuss this with her like _reasonable_ people, and I know I'm expecting a lot there since you're both Uzumakis, but you will _attempt_ it. She is upset. She does not hate you. _And stop fighting that sand_! It's not moving until I tell it to, so get comfortable."

With that, Uzumaki Naruto watched helplessly pinned to a wall by sand as Gaara of the Desert stalked out of his home intent on finding his daughter. It occurred to him about five minutes later that he had just watched Gaara of the Desert channel Umino Iruka and decided that the world was a strange frightening place. But is did seem to have a very odd sense of humor.

Gaara stalked through the forest surrounding the cabin, following the girl's trail. It shouldn't have been a difficult thing to do considering that she had never been trained and was upset. Shouldn't have, being the key words there. Apparently being half fox demon gave one an innate sense of how to cover one's tracks. Cursing, he stopped looking around for some clue as to which direction the brat had gone in.

There. A few broken branches in the undergrowth to his right.

Turning right, he continued on until a high pitched shriek and the roar of an animal echoed through the forest a little ways ahead of him. Crap. If he let Naruto's daughter die then he'd never get laid. Racing forward, the redhead came to a clearing and saw the little blonde backed up against a tree being cornered by a wild boar. Of course, because that was just the way his luck worked, the boar decided to charge the girl at that moment. Gaara rolled his eyes.

Kizuko squeezed her eyes shut and cowered as the boar charged forward. It was obviously very angry and decided to take it out on her. _Papa…_

There was a scream from the boar and some grunting but it wasn't hurting her, she realized. Peeking open an eye, she saw a wall of sand covering her and keeping her from seeing what was happening. It was then very quite and then the sand in front of her began shifting and sliding away. Glupping, she saw the Panda Eyed Lunatic standing in front of her glaring.

"Proud of yourself?" He asked coldly.

She glared at him.

"Come on, your father's a mess." He reached out to grab her arm.

"NO!" She snatched her arm back and backed away from the redhead.

Gaara felt the familiar homicidal urges rising up in him. _Can't kill her, won't get laid. Can't kill her, won't get laid. Can't kill her, won't get laid._ And so on went the mantra.

"Why not?" he asked through gritted teeth.

She looked at her feet…and was that a sniffle he heard?

"Papa not need Kizuko anymore."

Desert Sun help him, it _was_. He resisted the urge to rub his temples at the incoming headache.

"And you say that, why?"

"Has Gaara now. Not need Kizuko."

It was as if some one had flicked the light bulb over his head to make it turn on.

"That's why you don't want me to stay? Because you think I'm going to take him away?"

She nodded, glumly.

"Dear Sands, you even got his stupidity." He muttered to himself. And then louder to her, "Okay, I'm only explaining this once, so listen. Your father is never going to leave you. He is never going to not need you. You are his most important person, and he's yours, right?"

She nodded.

"You will always need each other. He almost died so he could have you. I am _not_ going to take him away from you. But."

She finally looked up at him, sensing this was serious.

"He's one of my most important people too."  
"Can have?"  
"Have what?"

"More than one most important persons."

Now why in the Desert would she…oh, right. It had only been her and Naruto since she was born. He was the only other person she had met. Well, that explained a lot.

"Yes, you can. You can also share most important people."

"Soo…Kizuko can share Papa with Gaara?"

"Right."

"And Papa can share Gaara with Kizuko?"

Twitch. "I…suppose."

Kizuko nodded to herself, pigtails bouncing with the motion. "Right. Tell Papa now."

"And apologize."

She looked at him curiously.

Gaara sighed as he scooped the little blonde up so they would make it back quicker.

"For saying you hate him. It really hurt him. Everyone has always told them they hate him, except for you. And then you said it and it really really hurt him."

Kizuko looked at him with wide eyes, biting her lip as they traveled along.

"Kizuko love Papa." She said quietly.

"Good. Go tell him."

They traveled in silence for a little while. Kizuko then hesitantly placed her arms around Gaara's neck and looked at him intently.

"Gaara…"  
"What?"

"Will Gaara be one of Kizuko's most important people?"

"We'll see." He replied, fighting a small smile.

Traveling through the treetops, proved a much quicker way of travel and they soon found themselves back in front of the cabin door. Gaara set Kizuko down and opened the door. The little girl ran to the room where her father was, The Sand nin close behind her. He quietly called the sand imprisoning Naruto back to him and left the two Uzumakis to make up.

"Papa!" She hugged him tightly. "Kizuko love…Sorry. Kizuko mad, but better."

Naruto blinked, and then blinked again to hold back tears as he returned the embrace and holding his daughter close. "…Thank you, kitling. Papa was mad too. And I need to say I'm sorry too. I really like Gaara, but if you don't want him to stay…"

"Stay! Kizuko share Papa with Gaara."

"Really?"  
"Really."

"Thank you, Kitling."

"Maybe Papa share Gaara with Kizuko!"

Naruto nearly snorted with laughter. "Er…we'll see, Kitiling. Papa's going to talk to Gaara for a minute, okay?"

Kizuko hugged him tight and kissed his cheek before letting go and received a return kiss on the forehead for her trouble.

Naruto exited the room and slid up to the Sand nin who was staring out the window trying very hard to look like he wasn't interested.

"Thank you."

"Hey, I just did what I had to to keep you alive."

"Mmmhmm. So…I hear I may have to 'share' you with Kizuko?"

" I have no clue what you're talking about."

"I'll bet you don't, you big softie. So much for the big tough 'I'm Psychopath who's going to kill you for fun and profit' act."

"Oh shut up."

The blonde slid an arm around Gaara's waist and rested his chin on the other's shoulder, a convenient place for talking seductively into another's ear.

"I'm just hoping I don't have to 'share' in quite the same ways as her."

"Oh…?"

"Mmm. I think she can have you all she wants during the day, but _I_ get you at night."

"I think that can be arranged."

"Good."

Naruto leaned over and kissed the readhead hard. His right hand brushed lightly against the other's left side and he felt Gaara _twitch_ suspiciously. Curious, he repeated the motion. The same twitch occurred. The blonde grinned evilly.

"You're ticklish."

"I most certainly am _not_ !" The sand nin replied a little too quickly.

"Oh, yes you are!" Naruto crowed. He produced two shadow clones and pounced on the hapless redhead.

"Kitling! Come help me!"

Kizuko raced out of the room to see three of Papa hold down a scowling Gaara. She looked rather puzzled until the one on top of Gaara looked at her and said. "Gaara's ticklish."

Identical foxy grins of evil crossed their faces.

Gaara wondered as he tried to fight off the Attack of the Blondes without much violence what the hell he had just gotten himself into.


	5. Though Hell Should Bar The Way

Well, apparently kicking around ideas and bribing me with pretty pictures works. Woo. Who'da thunk it? Actually, it wasn't that difficult. I'm a BIG fangirl and therefore very susceptible to bribes. I'm so ashamed of myself…okay, not really. But I should be.

I think there might be one more chapter or so left in this one. And then it's on to the sequels and to finish up the Shika/Ino story. Y'know…one of these days I'm going to write and post something Naruto that's _not_ in the FoD Universe. Just to prove to you all that I can. Really.

Oh yeah! And Aki drew me another gorgeous fanart! Go check it out on my bio page!

* * *

The plan had been that he would stay with them forever. The plan had been that, now found, he would never leave his loved one alone ever again. Of course, there is an old saying about Plans. In fact, if he listened close enough he could probably hear God laughing at him already. (Or that could just be the fanfic author)

The cabin had been home to three occupants instead of two for a little over a month. Slowly, Gaara was figuring out how he fit into the blondes' daily routine and life. The brat wasn't so much of a brat anymore. And if he really thought about it, which he tried very hard not to, he found she had already laughed her way into his heart somehow. Glaring matches weren't as common anymore, and she had taken to crawling up on his lap or shoulders as often as she did to Naruto. Personal space issues aside, and Desert Sun had he freaked out the first time she'd crawled up on his lap, it really wasn't that bad.

He had flashbacks to his own horrific childhood and decided that no child should ever have to go through something like what he had been through. That decided; Kizuko discovered to her utmost delight that she now had not only one, but _two_ living playthings that would do almost whatever she asked of them. Much to the redhead's horror and Naruto's immense amusement.

Ah, Naruto. Now there was a completely different source of frustration.

The blonde was still feeling a little skittish about bedroom activities, but that was okay. The Sand nin could wait. He was a patient person. Really. Besides, the make-out sessions almost made up for it. _Almost_. But not scaring Naruto meant more to him than…_twitch_…sex did. So they were taking it slow. And he was internally bitching about it every step of the way.

Yes, things were as quiet as could be expected and Gaara found himself fitting into the Uzumakis life quite comfortably.

And then one day, they all just happened to be in the forest when it happened.

Naruto had been leaning against the trunk of an aged pine, watching his daughter happily romp with the fox kits that lived near the cabin. Out of seemingly nowhere there was a screech and then _something_ flew down towards him. It pulled up into a graceful curve, but not before snatching a couple of strands of gleaming blonde in its talons.

"What the hell?!" The ex-leaf nin jumped back glaring as the _something_ circled gracefully and then landed on a low hanging branch near Gaara. The redhead felt a heavy weight descend on him as he recognized the creature.

"It's a Sand Messenger Bird."

"That thing just dive bombed me!"

"It's a _pigeon_, Naruto."

"Yeah? Well, it's a vicious hair-stealing pigeon!"

The pigeon cooed smugly in the blonde's direction. Naruto glared at it, muttering something about roasted bird for dinner. Gaara rolled his eyes in a silent plea for strength and took the message from the bird's leg.

Unfurling the small scroll, and giving it a touch of chakra to decode, he began to read. The further he read, the darker his expression became. Sand began creeping out from around him until Naruto commanded his attention.

"Gaara! Stop that! You're scaring the kids!"

Well, really he was just scaring the fox kits who were hissing at the sand. Kizuko was actually crouched down near the closest tendril poking at it. The tendril seemed rather shocked by this particular treatment.

"Kitling! Don't poke at that, you don't know where it's been!"

Kizuko blinked big blue eyes at her Papa, shrugged and then went back to playing with the kits. Naruto sighed and then turned to the redhead. "Bad news?"

"They're calling me back for a mission."

"…oh."

A long moment of silence.

"Umm…well…I guess you have to go then."

The paler man nodded, still looking very pissy.

"When…are you leaving?"

"It's late, so I'll wait until morning."

Naruto inhaled deeply. "I…we'll miss you."

"I'm coming back. And it won't take me 4 years this time."

The blonde gave a small smile and reached out to shyly clasp the other's hand. "Yeah. Kitling, time to go!"

Leaving the kits to wrestle amongst themselves, the little blonde bounced her way over. She looked between her father and Gaara and frowned.

"What wrong?"

"I have to go back."

Blue eyes immediately went wide and her bottom lip began to tremble. Running forward, she wrapped her arms around the redhead's leg and looked up at him with Big Blue Eyes.

"Leave Kizuko and Papa?"

"Yes."

"Why?"

"I have to. My village called me back for a mission."

This, she clearly didn't understand. So he tried another tactic.

"I'll come back."

"Promise?"

"Promise."

"No leave Papa and Kizuko alone again."

"I won't. We've all been alone too long."

He then let go of Naruto's hand just long enough to pick up Kizuko. And then, holding both of his kitsunes in one way or another, they walked home.

The sun sunk beneath the craggy mountains and the moon rose like a full, shining gem in the middle of sea of black velvet. The creatures of the forest cried out and moved in their nocturnal wanderings.

The cabin's occupants had all been quieter since the message arrived to separate them. Kizuko and Naruto both seem to touch or cling to the Sand nin more than usual, as if they were trying to memorize his warmth and touch for fear of never seeing him again.

The little one was falling asleep as she stood, rubbing her eyes and denying every yawn that escaped her mouth. Scooping her up, Naruto brought her to the bedroom and unfolded the futon. Rubbing one blue eye with a tiny fist, she fought being put down.

"Nnnn…Want Gaara."

Naruto blinked at this and then smiled, understanding. Placing a kiss on her forehead, he set her on the futon and ducked out into the main room.

"You're being summoned."

"What?"

"She wants you to tuck her in."

"Oh no. I do _not_ tuck in. I don't even know how to tuck some one in."

"Eh. You'll figure out easy enough. Besides, you've been drafted. Consider it a mission."

The Sand nin sighed as he walked into the bedroom and tried not to show any fear of the task that awaited him. Kizuko sat on the futon smiling up sleepily at him. He stared at the little girl as if she were some utterly foreign object. She blinked expectantly at him. The staring continued.

Naruto snickered and decided to finally take pity on the poor man. Picking up a slightly worn hairbrush, he placed it in Gaara's hand. Gaara looked at the object, confused.

"Here. Undo her hair and brush out the tangles, and then just make sure she goes to sleep."

Seeing that the older blonde was now searching the closet for something and ignoring him, the redhead walked slowly towards the little one on the futon. Sitting next to her, he looked from the hairbrush to the pigtails and back a couple of times.

Sensing his confusion, Kizuko repositioned herself in front of him and began tugging at her hair-bands. Larger hands covered her small ones, helping to untangle the blonde locks from the elastic holders. Eventually the bands came free and the soft bristles of the brush began to slide through her hair.

"Kizuko likes."

"Huh?"

"Papa pulls sometimes, but Gaara doesn't. Brush Kizuko's hair again when come back, kay?"

"Okay."

He continued the motions until he realized the little one was asleep in front of him. Setting the brush aside, he gentle repositioned her on the futon and pulled the covers up over her. Turning to a leave, a small voice called him back.

"Kiss."

"What?"

"Goodnight kiss."

Sleepily, she tugged on his arm. Very confused, the redhead leaned down and was then rewarded with a soft kiss on the cheek. He blinked.

" Night…" she yawned and then rolled over, snuggling in the blankets.

Still a little stunned, Gaara left the darkened room and quietly closed the door behind him. Placing a hand up to cheek that just been kissed, he mused idly. Yes, there were indeed many, many different types of kisses. And he was finding that he liked every one he received thus far.

Speaking of kisses…where had Naruto gotten off to? Scanning the main room, the blonde was no where in sight. Which left…the _other_ room. Walking the few steps to the left, he pulled open the door and stopped short at the sight.

Moonlight poured into the small room through the window and was augmented by a small paper lantern that gave off warm light from the corner of the room. There in the pool of moonlight under the window, on a makeshift bed of a travel bedroll, blankets and pillows that was more of a nest than a bed, sat Naruto. The moonlight dulled his bright hair to pale gold as it hung free from its normal bindings. He sat on the blankets shirtless and the moonlight kissed his skin to bronze.

With a grin, he motioned the stunned Sand nin forward and Gaara found his feet moving of their own accord. As he approached, the blonde stood and leaned forward to capture his lips. The kiss deepened and the redhead felt himself being turned and pushed down to the blankets.

Breaking the kiss, Naruto smiled softly and then sat on Gaara's lap, facing the other man and wrapping his legs around the redhead's waist. He then leaned forward, wrapping tan arms around the other's neck and kissing him deeply.

Gaara wasn't exactly sure what had brought about this change, but at the moment he had a half naked, wiggling, _moaning_ Naruto in his lap, kissing him quite thoroughly. Him? Complain? Nope, must be thinking of the _other_ psycho Tanuki boy.

* * *

What's that, Children? You say you want the rest of the story? Well, yes, as a matter of fact Naruto and Gaara do get together and do all sorts of nice citrusy things to each other. However, Auntie Cneko can't post that here, so you'll have to check out her LJ (link's on the bio page under 'homepage') to find out what happens!

And please let her know what you think. She's not so good at writing smut.


	6. Presents

Ugh. Had to spend time at the beach with my family. Hate the beach. (I'm a mountains sort of girl) However, my immense boredom is y'alls luck! Here it is!!

Let's hope I didn't make it too cliche ...

Enjoy folks!

* * *

Sand circled, glittering in the light with flecks of minerals and dried blood as it returned to its master. The hired thug before him coughed, blood dribbling down his chin, and then fell to the ground. Gaara looked on, unimpressed and slightly annoyed.

The mission had brought them to a large city in the heart of the Wind Continent. There had been a rash of kidnappings in the rural villages around the city recently and all the abductees aged from 4 to 13. Families had pooled their money and hired Sand nin to recover the missing children and return them to their villages. Hardly an A ranked mission.

Until intelligence had uncovered just what had happened to the kidnapped children.

At the moment, most of the children were in the possession of a Murasaki Kazutaka, a very wealthy gentleman who lived within the city and was well known in the underworld as the head of a large child prostitution ring. He was also well known for being slightly paranoid, and therefore heavily guarded. At that point, Hidden Sand had upped the mission rank to A and called in one of their best Jounin teams.

And thusly did Gaara find himself infiltrating a poorly skilled, yet heavily guarded facility. And he was getting bored. They had been silent so far, no alarms sounding and none of the now unconscious (or worse) guards had raised the cry of intruders. Of course, they hadn't found any children yet either. Just a lot of wannabe punks, some prostitutes, an accountant or two, and a few secretaries wearing less clothing than the prostitutes.

Looking ahead, the redhead smirked. Two more wannabes guarding a door. Oooo…and this time they had machine guns. _Special_.

"I'll the one on the right, you take the one on the left."

He nodded to the leggy blonde next to him.

With no more than a gurgle both guards slumped to the ground, their unused guns clattering beside them as they did. A closer inspection would have shown the left one to have odd marks on his neck as a circle of sand quickly strangled him, while the right one had simply had his neck sliced by a sickle of wind. Gaara had to smile. She may not have had demon abilities, but his sister did truly beautiful work.

Temari walked up to the now unguarded door cheerfully. "Let's see what's behind door number one shall we?"

Preparing to face down a room full of guards and other faceless minions, the siblings tensed as Temari slid the door open. The roar and rush of panicked minions did not occur though. Instead, they received a roomful of wide, frightened eyes and whimpers.

"Are…are you bad people?" Came a frightened voice.

"That depends. How much money are you paying us?"

Temari and Gaara smacked Kankuro upside the head in stereo.

"Ow! Hey, that hurt!"

Temari knelt and smiled at the closest group. "Ignore him. He was dropped on his head as a baby."

"Temari!"

Temari gave him _The Look_. Kankuro, like all smart little brothers, backed down in fear of Aneki and fiddled with Karasu as he sulked. Gaara smirked. Temari then turned back to the huddle children.

"Your parents hired us to find you and take you back home."

This statement immediately got her swarmed by several happy, small children and a few of the older. One of the older children looked at the siblings for a long moment and then spoke softly.

"You guys are Sand shinobi, aren't you?"

Gaara nodded since Temari was still covered in children and Kankuro was still sulking.

"Yes."

"We're definitely getting home then…but, Haruka! They took her away earlier! You've got to find her! She's one of the little ones, and we can't just leave her."

"Where?"

"Dunno…sometimes they take the older ones to boss's office…"

The redhead sighed and met Temari's eyes. The older girl nodded over the heads of the pair of twins currently occupying her lap.

"I'll find her. You two get them out of here and I'll meet you at the safe house."

He paused, watching as Kankuro happily made Karasu dance for a group of less than impressed children.

"Maybe I should have left that singular."

Temari rolled her eyes. "You'd think that he was the youngest. We'll meet you there. Gaara…be safe, okay?"

Gaara smiled, and then returned to the corridor.

Finding the leader's office was easier than he had expected. He had taken out three more underlings on the way, and was really beginning to think that this had been labeled a rank A mission just to jack up the price. For this he had left his kitsunes? The Sand nin made a mental note to have a little 'talk' with KazeKage upon their return to the village.

Pausing out side the door, he could hear voices within. A little girl and an older man from the sounds of it. Slipping some sand beneath the crack in the door, he performed the Third Eye technique and scanned the room.

"Now, now…just be a good girl." Spoke the man, Murasaki obviously. A portly middle aged gentleman in a very nice suit. What was left of his oily hair glistened in the fluorescent lighting.

"No! Want to go home! I want Mama!" The little girl, Haruka he guessed, was sat up on the desk before the oily man, and Gaara noticed she had blonde pigtails.

"Oh, but you will, cutie. I promise. But you have to do something for me first." Murasaki leaned in towards the little one as he spoke, placing a large sweaty hand on her leg.

The redhead could just guess what that 'something' was. Right. Time to end this before anymore damaged happened to the girl. Let's see, how to do this...He could…

"I want Papa!!" Haruka screamed.

Perhaps, if she hadn't have had blonde pigtails he would have been okay. Perhaps if she hadn't have called out for 'Papa' in such desperate tone he would have been fine. However, both did happen and he saw red.

Images filled his mind of that great oily pig with his hands all over _his_ little kitsune, and the ache that came from having to leave both her and Naruto alone for this incredibly easy, imbecilic mission filled his heart. He had had to leave his kitsunes _alone_ for _this_ ? He had to miss out on two weeks worth of possible sex with the most gorgeous blonde in existence just because this perverted, slimy excuse of a man couldn't go get his jollies with a _consenting adult_?!!! And suddenly, how to go about rescuing Haruka wasn't an issue anymore.

Sand burst down the door and flooded the room. The little girl screamed and Murasaki screamed; it was difficult to tell whose was more girly. Not that they didn't have something to scream about. There in the doorway, looking very foreboding, rage and blood lust in his green eyes with sand flowing in every direction, stood Gaara of The Desert.

The sand crept forward, covering the desk, and reaching for the man cowering behind it. A cloud of the rough grains rose up under the little one, carrying her away from the crime lord and setting her down before the Sand nin. Haruka looked up at him with big brown eyes. Green eyes flickered down momentarily, noting wryly that any similarity between the girl before him and Kizuko ended at the blonde pigtails.

"Go into the hallway and wait for me there."

"Oh, yes…then my guards will capture you, cutie and then take care of this miscreant." The pig man cried out smugly.

"Guards? Oh, you mean the thugs I took care of before I came in here."

He had to admit, it _was_ amusing to watch Murasaki squirm and sweat.

Haruka ducked out behind the redhead, hiding in the hall as she was told. Gaara then turned to the man behind the desk, 'I'm a Psycho Who's About to Kill You for Fun and Profit' mode on full force and complete with smirk.

"Like children do we?"

A Whimper.

"Do you have any idea what I had to leave behind so I could come and do this stupid mission?!"

A gulp.

"And you couldn't even hire guards that were decent challenge!!"

"….I'm sorry?"

"Not as much as you're going to be."

The sand gathered surrounding the cowering crime lord and a tendril formed a sharp point between his legs. The tendril sped downward, but then froze. Murasaki opened one eye to look at his tormentor. Gaara seemed to be regarding the man very carefully.

"I must admit…it was because of leaving that I got a night of really good sex, so maybe I should show a little gratitude for that…"

Murasaki breathed a sigh of relief, slumping down slightly.

"….Nah."

_Whoosh_. And then the man's high pitched scream became an octave higher. As he opened his mouth in the scream, sand rushed in. It poured in through mouth and nose, suffocating him before the redhead called the grains back to him. The sand returned to its master, but forced its way through the obstacles blocking it, leaving the corpse of Murasaki to explode from within and shower the office with blood.

Gaara had an odd sense of dejavu as he calmly picked up an umbrella from the stand near the door and opened it to avoid the crimson rain. Now where had he…? Oh, right. The first Chuunin exam. Where he first met Naruto. He smiled a little at the memory before realizing that Haruka was still in the hall.

Right. Sooner he got her out of here and to her parents the sooner he could go home.

He found the little blonde waiting for him around the corner. She looked up at him, cocking her head to the side.

"Gonna take me home?"

"Yes."

"Save the others?"

"They're with my sister and brother."

"Good."

She was very quite for a moment as they walked.

"Thank you."

"You're welcome."

"What did you leave behind?"

"You heard that?"

"You were very loud. And very angry for having to leave it."

Gaara snorted to himself. He was getting soft if a six year old could read him.

"I left my important people."

"Ah. But, you're going back, right?"

"Yeah."

"You should buy them presents. Papa always brought me a present when he came back from going away."

"Presents?"

"Yeah! Something they'll like to show you thought about them."

Presents, huh?

They met back up with Temari, Kankuro, and the other children. Gaara sat and watched as his siblings tried to figure out which children when back to which villages. It was highly amusing when you had two Sand Jounin who were not use to children and about twenty five lost kids eager to get home. He supposed all that time with Kizuko paid off as he didn't even mind that much when some of the younger ones came over and began crawling over him, playing in some of the sand he placed down for them.

Eventually, the kids wore themselves out and fell asleep in various piles around the floor of the safe house. Temari and Kankuro quick to follow in their footsteps. Shaking his head, he slipped out of the house and back into the city.

It was still fairly early in the evening, most of the city still worked and bustled. Bright electric lights shone and hid the natural light of the moon and stars, which annoyed him a little. He liked the moonlight. Especially when it shone over a half naked Naruto.

The forest was too humid and dense for his taste most of the time, but he found he missed it as he looked around the urban chaos of the city. The city was noisy and bright, and there were far too many people. All he needed was the moon, the sounds of the night, and his kitsunes.

When did he begin referring to both of them as his, he wondered. It didn't particularly matter since they _were_ his now, but it was an interesting thing to wonder. He was still musing about it when he pasted the window of a store. He walked past it at first, but then something lying in a small forgotten corner of the store grabbed his attention. He smiled.

Presents.

Meanwhile, back in the forest...

There was movement in the underbrush and immediately Naruto felt out for chakra. When nothing more than a squirrel ran by chattering, he sighed. He had to stop, really. It had only been two weeks, he could handle this. Gaara was coming back.

So what if it had been two weeks worth of checking for the redhead's chakra constantly?

So what if it had been two weeks of Kizuko running out of the cabin to see if he was here yet every day?

So what if it had been two weeks of lonely nights with an empty bed and the libido of a long denied young man plus a horny fox demon?

He could handle it. He could be patient. He just really wanted Gaara back _now_, that's all.

"Papa! Papa! Kizuko saw sand!"

There went another sigh. Kizuko had been seeing sand for the past two weeks. Apparently his kitling had grown attached to the missing Sand nin, and if he knew what was good for him Gaara would get back _soon_.

"Kitling, you have to understand. Every time you see sand doesn't mean that Gaara's back yet."

"But Kizuko did see sand!"

"Look, Kitling, Papa misses Gaara too, but…"

"Then why don't you believe your daughter and go see the sand for once?" A voice cut through the trees. Naruto's head snapped up. Sand swirled around him, almost caressing him. There stood Gaara of the Desert, his arms crossed and his head cocked in a 'well, what are you waiting for?' sort of manner.

"_Told_ Papa."

"Yes, you did Kitling."

And then both blondes launched themselves at the redhead with twin cries of "Gaara!" All three ended up on forest floor, Kizuko with her arms latched around the Sand nin's waist and Naruto with his lips fused to the Sand nin's mouth. Ah, the difference in greetings. And yet the love was still there all the same.

And Gaara, for his part, felt stupidly happy. He was back in the forest, away from that damned city. And most importantly, he had his golden kitsunes back. Placing a hand on Kizuko's head and kissing Naruto back as hard as possible, Gaara decided that life was good.

A while later, he had placed the gourd up against a tree and they were just lying on the grass enjoying each other. Naruto rested his head on the Sand nin's left shoulder and had an arm thrown across Gaara's chest. Kizuko was equally snuggled up with most of her upper body resting on his stomach. They lay in silence for awhile, until Kizuko's tiny voice piped up.

"It hard?"

"The mission?"

"Un!"

"No. They were stupid to call me back for something so easy."

"Have fun?"

"Not really…okay, maybe a little towards the end."

Naruto gave the redhead a _Look_. Gaara promptly ignored it.

"I met a little girl."

Kizuko lifted her head looking worried that she'd be replaced.

"She told me that her father brought her back a present whenever he left to show her he was thing about her while he was gone."

Kizuko blinked her big blue eyes. "Present?"

"Yes, presents."

The little blonde bit her lip for a minute and then snuggled up to Gaara a little more. "Gaara think about Kizuko?"

The redhead tried to hide a grin. "Maybe."

Naruto gave him a playful shove. "Oh for leaf's sake, if you got her something give it to her or else she'll be after you all night!"

Gaara blinked innocently. Okay, well somewhat innocently. "What's wrong with that?"

"_I_ want you all to myself tonight." The older blonde hissed in his ear, tracing the shell lightly with his tongue to prove his point.

"Right. Let me up."

The blondes complied; he moved over to the pack next to the gourd and dug inside for a moment. A minute later, he looked at Kizuko giving her a very serious look. The little blonde tried to stand still but was bouncing slightly in excitement. A present! For her!! She'd never gotten a present before. Papa had gotten her a few toys, but he always asked her if she would like them first. This was her first surprise present. She bounced on the balls of her feet a couple of times.

Slowly, Gaara pulled something out of his pack. She couldn't see what it was at first, but then she saw a flash of brown. He turned and she could see it clearly. It was a stuffed animal, but not just any stuffed animal. It was fox! A reddish-brown fox with soft fur and shiny black eyes. She couldn't contain her cry of excitement any longer.

"_Wai_!!! Fox! Fox!"

"I thought you might like it."

"Kizuko loves!!"

She held the fox close to her and threw her little arms around Gaara's neck, giving him a kiss on the cheek.

"Thank you Gaara! Kizuko loves!! Papa!! Fox! Fox!"

Naruto nodded, smiling happily at his little girl's joy. "I see, Kitling. What are you going to name him?"

She blinked.

"Well, every good animal should have a name. What do you think we should call him?"

Kizuko looked up at Gaara with wide eyes.

"Oh, no. It's your fox, you name it."

The little blonde blinked and then frowned, looking at the fox and concentrating very hard. Then, as if summoned, a fox barked and it echoed throughout the forest.

"Kon-Kon!!" she cried.

"Kon-Kon?" Gaara repeated incredulously.

"Kon-Kon!"

He and Naruto looked at each other and shrugged.

"Well, whatever works."

The important stuff over with, Kizuko happily sat down and began to play with the newly named Kon-Kon. While she was distracted, Naruto slid his arms around Gaara's neck and looked up at the Sand nin with big, wide eyes and a slightly poked out bottom lip.

"Presents?" he asked looking very sad and pathetic indeed.

Gaara smirk and kissed the blonde's forehead before leaning to whisper in his ear. "You'll get yours tonight."

"Oooo…I can hardly wait."

He pulled the redhead for a kiss and Gaara complied readily. Breaking off a minute later, the blonde smiled and nuzzled against him.

"Welcome home."

* * *

Well, here it is. The last official chapter of Forest in the Desert Sand. BUT note I said 'official' there kiddies! Yes, that's right. There's still one more little extra part I need to write.

Just what _did_ Gaara bring back for Naruto?

Hehehehe. Thank you all so very much for tagging along. I must say, it's been rather fun fleshing out Snarky! Gaara and watching his relationship with the Uzumakis grow. Heck, even I didn't know that He and Kizuko didn't get along at first until I sat down and started typing.

I guess now I have to start on more of those One Shots and Sequels.

Thanks everyone for your support and reviews. And heck, even if you never reviewed thanks for reading and being patient with me and my uber slow writing. You guys are the bestests!


	7. Okaeri

So I lied. I really should be filling out applications and forms and going through all sorts of Red Tape. Or studying for the GRE. I'd rather be writing. So I am. Cuz who knows when I'll actually get a chance to sit down and do this again?

So, here's the final extra chapter I promised y'all of Forest in the Desert Sand. Hope it was worth the wait. And yes, Gaara's a big prevert. And yes, I _did_ mean to write prevert, not pervert.

Enjoy!

* * *

Later, Kizuko was put to bed. The little one had been yawning and rubbing her eyes but denying being sleepy for a good half hour before Naruto put his foot down and hauled her off to the futon. A few minutes later found her with pajamas on, hair brushed out by Gaara upon request, a short lullaby of Haruka Katana, and the golden head was fast asleep on the pillow with Kon-Kon hugged close.

Naruto gently kissed her forehead and quietly shut the door to the room behind him. He found the Sand Nin sitting on the couch with his nose in a book oddly enough. The blonde came and flopped down beside him, looking curious.

"You read?"

Gaara chose to not even dignify that with an answer when a good hard glare would do.

"Right. So...whatcha reading?"

Naruto peeked over the redhead shoulder to read and his jaw promptly fell in horror. He blinked, shook his head, and then looked again. Nope, the text was still the same.

"You perv!! You're reading _those_ books!"

Sure enough, a quick glance at the cover revealed the title of said novel. '_Icha Icha Oasis'_

The blonde moaned and buried his face in his hands. "I should have _known_ that old letch would still be around writing those pervy novels of his...And to think you're actually _reading_ them"

Gaara blinked at the moaning blonde beside him. "You actually know the author?"

"Ero-sennin was my old sensei, before"

Gaara's silence radiated the fact that he was quite impressed.

"That is _not_ something to be impressed about."

"...Have you ever actually _read_ any of the series?"

"Um...No."

"It's actually not bad. Yeah, it's perverted and there's tons of sex and nudity...but there's generally a pretty good plot to every book. The series wouldn't be that popular otherwise."

"...You're shitting me."

"Come here and see for yourself."

* * *

Oopies...Sorry, kiddies but that's all for right here. Auntie Cneko doesn't want to get in trouble with ff. net, so if you want the rest you're gonna have to go to her bio page and click on the link there. 


End file.
